flstandardbreds Chapter 178 The first clues
Chapter 178 The first clues
While applying the medicine, Jiang Lige asked Ning Yunxiao, "How's the progress today, Prince? Is there any trouble?"
"It's going pretty smoothly," Ning Yunxiao replied, then added, "Luoshui Town and several surrounding villages were affected. The affected area is wider than I expected, and some of it is located in areas with steep terrain. Although the heavy rain has stopped, the terrain here is difficult, and the water conservancy project originally used for flood control has run into problems, so the floodwaters can't be drained away at all."
When Jiang Lige heard this, he understood what Ning Yunxiao meant. "The flood is difficult to drain. If the rainstorm comes again, the terrain here is already low, and I'm afraid even the last bit of peace will be gone. Our top priority is to find the flaws in the water conservancy project and repair it as soon as possible."
Ning Yunxiao nodded, "Exactly. I wonder how Deng Sijiu is doing."
"There's progress, so there's no need to worry. Worrying won't lead to more progress." Jiang Lige was quite at ease and said with a smile, "So, Prince, don't worry about this anymore. Go to bed early. We still have a tough battle to fight tomorrow."
Looking at the girl in front of him who seemed to be never tired, Ning Yunxiao's heart also found a moment of peace. He smiled slightly and replied, "Okay."
After working all day, everyone was tired and fell asleep in the newly set up tent, wrapped in a thin quilt.
Although the conditions were difficult, Jiang Lige still slept soundly, and when he opened his eyes again it was already the next day.
Everyone from the official post station waded over the water early in the morning. Except for Fengquan, almost everyone was present.
Zheng Baoyao also brought news. "Master Deng has asked me to bring you a message. He says there's some progress on the matter you asked him to investigate. He wants you to find a way to meet up at the west gate of Border Town tonight."
This matter was obscure, so Jiang Lige just nodded and discussed it with Ning Yunxiao privately.
Now is the critical period for flood control. There are countless eyes watching them. It is not easy to go out without being noticed.
So the two of them had to wait until nightfall, pack light, and go alone.
The west gate of the border town is one of the few places that has not been affected by the flood. Outside the city gate is the country's territory. The people living here are a mixed bunch, so this area is also notoriously unsafe.
To the right of the city gate was an old residential area. After the three of them met in the alley, they climbed over the wall, bypassed the city gate, and headed straight for their destination.
The destination was a hill. After entering the hill, Deng Sijiu began to introduce.
"The locals call this hill Three Heads Mountain, but there are very few residents here and it's hardly under the jurisdiction of the Three Kingdoms. Instead, it serves as a border defense barrier. At the foot of the mountain, a key point of the water conservancy project is built. It's said that it was specially selected by Censor Ye back then. Its main function is to discharge floodwaters. However, when I came to investigate, I found that the discharge outlet is blocked."
Ning Yunxiao walked in the direction pointed by Deng Sijiu, lifted up the vegetation that was deliberately blocking his view, and without any hesitation, he took off his shoes and socks and stepped into the puddle.
Because the flood discharge outlet was blocked, the water level here was very high. Ning Yunxiao had only taken a few steps when the dirty flood had already reached his chest.
Ning Yunxiao didn't move forward. Instead, he turned around and told Deng Sijiu, "Take good care of the princess. I'll be back soon."
After he finished speaking, he dived into the water and disappeared without a trace.
Jiang Lige was worried that Ning Yunxiao couldn't bear the fatigue, but she couldn't help him. She could only pace back and forth on the shore, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing Ning Yunxiao.
After a while, Ning Yunxiao poked his head out of the water.
Seeing this, Deng Sijiu quickly lent a hand and pulled the man out of the water.
Jiang Lige also hurried forward to ask with concern: "How is it, is there anything wrong with the prince?"
Being cared for so much, Ning Yunxiao always felt like a porcelain doll. He smiled and shook his head before getting to the point.
"That's indeed the problem. The reason the flood can't be discharged is that there's something wrong with the flood outlet, and the flood outlet is blocked artificially."
"Why do you think so?" Deng Sijiu asked.
Ning Yunxiao took the handkerchief Jiang Lige handed him and wiped the dirty water off his body as he explained, "The floodgates are blocked by rubble of similar size. If it were just an ordinary flash flood, it wouldn't be such a coincidence. Furthermore, a small section of the underwater stone gate was artificially broken, which is easy to identify from the damage. And the collapsed part happened to be blocked by the rubble."
"But why would they do this?" Deng Sijiu was still puzzled. "If they wanted to sabotage the water conservancy project, couldn't they just cut off all the stone gates? Why would they destroy part of the stone gates and then block them with stones? This is pure nonsense!"
"..."
Ning Yunxiao was shocked by Deng Sijiu's "frankness" and his face was full of indescribable expression.
Seeing Ning Yunxiao's expression like that for the first time, Jiang Lige couldn't help but smile and answered for him, "If the water conservancy project is completely destroyed and the flood backflows, the border town will be gone. By doing this, they can delay the flood discharge without completely destroying the border town. This will give them an opportunity to take advantage of it."
Deng Sijiu shook his head, "I still don't understand."
Jiang Lige asked again, "Do you know how much disaster relief funds the imperial court allocates to border towns every year? And how much of that actually benefits the people?"
Ning Yunxiao readily took over the conversation, "A full 100,000 taels."
After the two of them talked to this point, Deng Sijiu finally understood.
"So, the purpose of those who destroyed the water conservancy project was to get the disaster relief funds from the imperial court! Apart from anything else, even the repair costs of the water conservancy project would be enough for these corrupt officials to make a fortune!"
The imperial court allocated money for water conservancy repairs, and the corrupt officials only needed to pretend to do so, and then secretly clear the blocked rubble to immediately complete the task of flood discharge.
First, he would have to give an explanation to the court that gave him the silver, and second, he would not offend the people, and he might even leave behind a good reputation!
"I'll go clean up the rubble."
Thinking of this, Deng Sijiu couldn't help but get angry. After yelling this, one foot went into the water.
Jiang Lige quickly grabbed Deng Sijiu and said, "Cutting the grass without removing the root is not a long-term solution. If we can't find the person behind this, it will be like drinking poison to quench thirst!"
"Then how can we find out who is behind this?" Deng Sijiu asked.
Jiang Lige didn't know much about water conservancy repairs, and couldn't think of a suitable solution for the moment, so he looked at Ning Yunxiao. "Does the prince have any ideas?"
Ning Yunxiao was silent for a moment, then uttered a word calmly: "Wait."
This answer was so concise that even Jiang Lige couldn't figure out what Ning Yunxiao meant for a moment.
Therefore, Jiang Lige and Deng Sijiu rarely shared the same confused expression. They both tilted their heads and asked, "What are you waiting for?"
"Wait for a rain." Ning Yunxiao replied.